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Rhianna Pratchett on writing Lara Croft's history for Tomb Raider

This article was taken from the March 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.

She might be a global icon, but Lara Croft hasn't forgotten her British roots. "We did have a scene involving Jaffa Cakes, but sadly that was cut," laments Rhianna Pratchett, lead writer on the latest Tomb Raider game, which imagines Lara Croft as a young archaeologist on her first big expedition. "We wanted to bring back her humanity, her compassion, her warmth -- and her geeky love for archaeology."

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Pratchett sports a "Narrative Paramedic" badge, reflecting the challenges of video-game scripting. " Narrative is in the game mechanics. Everything tells you a little bit of the story. It's about merging those elements, so it feels cohesive -- not like there's a layer of narrative custard on top of the trifle of the gameplay."

Croft casts a long shadow, being one of the few video-game characters to cross over into mainstream culture. But Pratchett, the daughter of novelist Terry and heir to the multimedia future of his Discworld setting, is unfazed. "I've had to deal with looming shadows all my life, and I always say it's not how large the shadow is: it's how fast you run."